What should I know about yarrow?

Hello friends. I am designing a new three acre farm for a friend. I have already started making elderberry, figs, blueberries and bush cherries for him. He also wants to raise bees. One of my first thoughts was the planting of yarrow in a tree guild situation. I knew it was a perennial insect attractor but I didn’t realize how easily it spread.
I have never grown yarrow so I’m here to learn. What should I know?

I'm no expert, but I can offer a few observations from growing yarrow the last couple of years.  It spreads, but it's not terribly aggressive.  Growing among other plants it seems to kind of weave around and find spots where it can get some sun.  Given its own sunny spot it'll get pretty bushy.  It doesn't necessarily need a lot of sun, but I have put it in a couple of locations where it just faded away and I assume that is from lack of sun.  It puts out a lot of flowers over mid - late summer here in NC.  Bees like it, but also potter wasps and tachnid flies frequent it.  Deer and rabbits nibble it occasionally but rarely do much damage.  I've heard it can be mixed into a lawn and when mowed it will stay pretty close to the ground and spread out.  I haven't tried that but from its growth patterns that seems likely.  These two pictures were taken a week or two ago.  Both these spots get 5 or 6 hours of sun in the summer and are pretty dry, being on mild slopes of sandy loam.  Obviously the bushy one has plenty of room and is making the most of it.  The other low to the ground yarrow is growing under some guara that has been trimmed back but is pretty bushy in the summer.  All the yarrow in my yard stays relatively green through the winter but doesn't grow when it's cold. I haven't really noticed much self seeding, but it could be happening, just not excessively. I planted my yarrow from seed 3 years ago and have dug up bits of plants and moved them around some.  They seem to be fine with the rough treatment. Hope that helps!

bushy yarrow


yarrow growing under other plants

Thanks so much Mark! Those great observations are exactly what I needed. I was really afraid it would spread aggressively and I would regret planting it.
I have 25 yarrow plants for the property I’m designing. I can do so now with confidence!
Thanks again…

I can add it's pretty tough. I have a cement sink that became the sink of death because for some reason everything planted in it would die. Yarrow has grown in it for 2 or 3 years now. It seems perfectly happy in the sink of death. I have had a few volunteers, but not a lot. At least for me in zone 9 b, I wouldn't consider it invasive. Good luck to you.

It's a strong and hardy plant. I also started mine from seed years ago, now it's one I give away willingly (from root division) knowing it will likely grow and flower for everyone I gift it to. It likes sun, which is why it likes the ditch environment off roads but it'll grow in part shade. I think the only ones I've ever lost were out-competed by my native grasses or in too much shade. I'm in zone 8a/b right on the line. I grow it as a companion around a large percentage of my fruit trees and find that after a couple years it adds that woody perennial biomass to the ground which is essentially a call out to all your local worms. I add it to tomato holes as well. If you find an old place you've had a plant in the ground for a couple years and try to dig it up you can see why some say it's good at mining nutrients. I took a pic in front of my greenhouse that had about a foot long root but with only a couple inch sprig coming above ground it was attached to. It's a great plant to have by your side as well if you are always holding sharp objects. It's the wound packer, this also makes sense if you spend time with the plant it's a very fern like feathery plant that you could ball up and stop bleeding with. Might save a life. The flowers are lovely and the shape of the flower attracts the beneficial bugs you want around. I ask myself every year if I should purchase the different color ones that are available, I've only used the native white one, but sometimes they'll have a slight pink blush that might remind you of an apple flower. This is just my experience as I am also no expert.

Scott Stiller wrote:Hello friends. I am designing a new three acre farm for a friend. I have already started making elderberry, figs, blueberries and bush cherries for him. He also wants to raise bees. One of my first thoughts was the planting of yarrow in a tree guild situation. I knew it was a perennial insect attractor but I didn’t realize how easily it spread.
I have never grown yarrow so I’m here to learn. What should I know?

It’s an amazing medicinal herb. I use it in my flu tea blend. Something to look into.

Supposedly this is what Achilles had his soldiers spread over his body, save for that one time they forgot to put yarrow on his heel.

I have used it twice so far to stop bleeding. Everyone else has provided growing information.

I will personally say, make sure you have enough for when you really need it.

Not a 'warning' as it's actually a positive thing, but yarrow is extremely drought-tolerant, at least by UK standards of the word 'drought'. It's not uncommon these days for us to have several months with little rain, and everything else turns brown unless watered apart from yarrow.

Also, I made beer out of it when I was 18 and it was...OK.

Oh and a warning - do not ingest whilst pregnant or breastfeeding.

Oh and a warning - do not ingest whilst pregnant or breastfeeding.

Why not? I ask with some concern, as I'm nursing a toddler and have already taken a three-week course of yarrow. :-/

I love to plant it around posts and walls so I can mow right up to it, cut some of it down and leave some up and it doesn’t bother the plant. It has great easy aesthetics on a semi weedy farm.

I wanted to plant yarrow due to the medicinal values.  This did not work out for me.

Here are some threads about the medicinal values:

https://permies.com/t/115101/Yarrow-root-tincture-mouthwash-dental

https://permies.com/t/177196/Yarrow-Original-Soldier-Herb

Saira Ramallo wrote:

Oh and a warning - do not ingest whilst pregnant or breastfeeding.

Why not? I ask with some concern, as I'm nursing a toddler and have already taken a three-week course of yarrow. :-/

The medicinal uses that I know of, for yarrow, are that it is a staunch that will readily stop bleeding when applied topically, a diuretic and that it is supposed to be helpful for menstrual cramps and bleeding - it is this final point, perhaps, that is the reason for the caution. If so, it probably isn't of concern once you've given birth (but please do further research!).

I just checked a book on traditional Romany remedies and it also claims that yarrow is helpful against colds and fevers.

The plant itself is one of my favourites and I have planted it in every garden I have had. It grows well in drought and also damp conditions - it's fantastic for a pot garden because of this. The flowers come in whites, creams, pinks and yellow, the latter being my personal preference. The yellow flowers in particular will hold their colour when dried and make a lovely, dried bouquet.

Saira Ramallo wrote:

Oh and a warning - do not ingest whilst pregnant or breastfeeding.

Why not? I ask with some concern, as I'm nursing a toddler and have already taken a three-week course of yarrow. :-/

It shouldn't cause you any harm!
Yarrow is one of the herbs that can cause quite a bit of harm if you overdose, but it's also very difficult to OD unless you're running it through a still.  There are generic "don't take if pregnant or breastfeeding" warnings on basically everything; it actually became a joke in our house when I was pregnant that I was going to starve from all the things I wasn't allowed to have without physician approval.

The first sign is gut trouble, so as long as your yarrow regime never caused you upset belly, I am confident you have not harmed your child.